Vegan Mofo 1st; Cheese!



As part of my Vegan 1st's, I'm going back to basics, and cheese is totally on the list. I use shop bought Vegan Cheese a lot, so why not have the power to make it at home?

I'm oftern asked; "Whats vegan cheese made of?" and to be honest I have no idea what goes into Cheezly and Scheese.



 This week I made my own cheese, so the next person who asks I'll point this way.
I love how simple the ingredients to this are, except the Agar agar, which I have never used, didn't know where to find and found to be Crazy expensive, but I have found other recipes which call for it, including the Boston Cream pie in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.

Hard White Cheese

11 fl oz (300 ml) water
2 tsp Agar Agar powder
3 1/2 oz (100g) Raw cashew nuts
1/2 oz (12g) nutritional yeast flakes
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp sesame tahini
1-2 tsp onion granules
1-2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic granules.

 

 

1. Boil the water and sprinkle agar agar powder on top. Stir and simmer till the flakes have dissolved.
2. Place in a food processor together with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth. Place in a mould e.g. margarine tub.
3. Chill in fridge overnight. 

 

 

 

Great with Crackers and vegetables Crudités, this makes a lot so you can have it for breakfast, lunch, snack and share a bit, if you are feeling generous.

 

 

 

It’s not a cheese for melting or putting on toast or pizza...sadly these are my favourite uses of vegan cheese!

 

 

So as you can see the cheese is pretty soft, it’s comparable to a cheesy mustardy hummus really, maybe I will thicken the Agar Agar more next time, or use more of it. I also used Dark Tahini, but would trade up for light next time or use a little less.  I would make this again; this is a great Pate style spread or dip for crackers and vegetables. I added a lot of black pepper when I ate it to spice it up a little bit.